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by God217



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Happy Ending, RocketShipping - Freeform, blood mention, for real nobody dies in this, istg jessie don't do this to me again, it's not all that detailed though, the plot just kept thickening, this was intended to be like 300 words idk what happened then, though tbh halfway through writing this i wasn't sure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-23
Updated: 2019-05-23
Packaged: 2020-03-10 02:50:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18929776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/God217/pseuds/God217
Summary: Two prompts, one storyPrompts: “Will you just mind your own business” / InjuryAfter a particularly bad blast-off, Jessie winds up injured. Now it’s up to James to save her – and to be there when she wakes upRocketshipping. A bit of angst, but mostly self-indulgent fluff





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** Prompts: “Will you just mind your own business” / Injury **

 

**Part One – James**

She’d been limping ever since the last blast-off, although he’d noticed that she only really did it when she thought he wasn’t looking. Whenever he did turn her way, she seemed normal, save for a slight furrow of her brow.

But he knew her well enough, he could tell she was in pain, and hiding it as always. Jessie had always been one to downplay her injuries, to hide any possible weakness she may have.

Still, they couldn’t just go on like that, could they?

He was already walking at a slower pace than he would usually have, so she could keep up without struggling, and still she kept lagging behind. Of course, he was well aware she wouldn’t appreciate him pointing out something she was actively trying to cover up, but she couldn’t really expect him to just go along with this without a word.

It was when she tripped over some branch, not quite falling but stumbling forward, and a sharp hiss escaped her, when James’ patience finally broke.

“Jess, that’s enough,” he declared, silently praying she wouldn’t hit him as he tried to sound firm. “You need to take a break.”

Her head snapped up, as expected, her offended expression showing a strong contrast to his worry.

“I’m fine, James. We don’t have time for breaks.”

She wasn’t technically wrong, of course. They still hadn’t found Meowth, and although the Pokémon always seemed to find his way back to them sooner or later, of course they were still going to look for him. But there was no use walking around with an injury; after all, one of their members being out of commission for the moment was enough.

“At least let me take a look,” he tried insisting, figuring that maybe they could at least treat whatever she had with… something. Wrap it up with a piece of cloth, or find some healing plants. It was hard to tell without knowing exactly what the issue was, but Jessie should know by now that he wouldn’t take advantage of a weakened state.

Not that he could if he wanted to, really. As long as she could still breathe, she was in charge, and that was that. And what kind of gain could her being hurt possibly bring him, anyway? They were on the same team, her being well was in his best interest too.

Heck, he’d be willing to carry her if he had to, even though obviously there was no way she’d willingly let herself sink that low.

“There’s nothing to look at,” came the annoyed response, Jessie’s tone clearly indicating that there was not going to be a discussion, but after all the years spent together, he could clearly make out the strain in her voice as well.

“But Jessie, I saw you hit that tree on our way down,” he attempted once more, set on remaining persistent until she gave in. She was stubborn, sure, but so was he if he wanted to be.

Suddenly she turned to him with a quickness he half hadn’t expected; her eyes practically ablaze with a fury that reminded him of a wounded Pokémon refusing to break down, her pride still stronger than her pain.

“Will you just mind your own business?”

She practically growled at him, her eyes sending a clear message as she turned away, heading in front of him defiantly. She was still pretending to be perfectly alright, although, at the same time, this time she had more-or-less admitted to the opposite. She was well aware that he knew, still she wanted him to stop caring, and went on to lead the way in an attempt to prove just how well she was.

James probably saw it coming before she did.

By the time her knees gave in he was already there, his arms catching her before she could hit the ground. Despite how worried he was, he couldn’t help but sigh; if only she’d admitted to herself that she needed some time, it wouldn’t have gotten to this point at all.

But that was Jessie. Everything with her was all or nothing, and that included injuries.

She couldn’t just be _slightly_ hurt. No, it had to be either perfectly fine or on the brink of death, and no in-between.

And, as always, he was the one that ended up having to deal with it.

However, those thoughts immediately vanished the second he caught sight of her face, her expression now obviously showing severe pain. Despite what she liked to believe, of course he’d seen her hurt before, but even James had never seen her look like that.

Something was definitely not right, and very much so.

God, if only Meowth were there, then maybe he’d be able to send him to get help, but they didn’t even have the hot air balloon. If this needed professional treatment they were pretty much screwed, being stuck all by themselves in the middle of nowhere.

Alright, deep breath.

He didn’t even know what the deal was yet. Maybe it wasn’t as bad.

Although she wouldn’t look like that if it weren’t.

But he needed to stay calm, panicking would only make things worse.

Knowing the spiteful glare Jessie was giving him wasn’t really personal, he decided to ignore it, pretending he couldn’t even see it as he sight-checked her body.

He wasn’t sure what he’d expected.

Some bruises probably, maybe a couple bad scratches.

Definitely not a blood-soaked shirt, the black fabric hiding the growing, dark stain.

Okay, okay, that was not good.

It didn’t even cross his mind that she might have a problem with him lifting up her already cropped top; Jessie had an issue with everything he did anyway, and honestly, his thoughts were way too preoccupied with the seemingly large wound on her ribcage to even care about whatever else he saw.

He winced at the sight of the injury. It wasn’t a deep scratch like he’d thought, it wasn’t a laceration. It was a _hole_.

A fairly small one, but a hole nonetheless.

A thin branch must’ve bore through her skin as she’d landed in a tree at full force, going right through. From the looks of it, she’d just ripped it out and pulled her shirt over the evidence.

How on earth had she managed to walk like that?

For a few seconds, James found himself frozen in place, staring at his partner’s wound as if just looking at it would somehow make it go away. It didn’t, of course – all that happened was more blood oozing out of it, now forming a thin stream down Jessie’s side onto the ground below.

Pulling himself together, he took a deep breath. Panicking would only make it worse, he needed to stay calm, for her sake. He had to.

They’d both been hurt often enough before. Maybe not quite like this, but he knew how to deal with injuries. After blasting off countless times, he knew basic first aid. He could do this.

He had no choice but to succeed, or else-

Don’t even go there.

Shaking his head in an attempt to get rid of the racing thoughts, he took one more look at the open wound, taking a closer inspection. From the looks of it, it hadn’t gone through completely – there was no blood coming from Jessie’s backside, so there didn’t seem to be an exit wound. Keeping her lying on her back would be his best bet then, and he had to somehow stop the bleeding from the front side too.

Not that he had any bandages, or literally anything else to help him. Everything they owned was still in the hot air balloon, which was probably wherever Meowth currently was as well: Out of reach.

Without hesitation he took off the top part of his uniform, the only piece of fabric he had on hand. Left in a black t-shirt, James balled the white garment together and pressed it against the wound, where it immediately began soaking up blood. Not the most effective way to stop it, but at least it was something.

His gaze shot back up to Jessie’s face when she winced at the contact, he was surprised to see her still conscious, albeit weak. Should he say something comforting, tell her it’d be alright? Did she _want_ comfort, or was she still mad at him?

“Why are you like this?” he eventually just muttered, more to himself than to her, really. It wasn’t meant to be an accusation or anything, it was just the only thing he could muster up saying while he kept up the pressure on her side and hoped the white fabric would just stop turning red.

Just the fact that she didn’t respond was enough to let him know just how weak she really was.

But they’d be fine, they had to be. They always ended up fine, somehow. They’d come crashing down from the sky so many times, it was almost part of their daily routine by this point, so what were the odds of one of them actually not… not making it?

No, this was Jessie. Jessie was just _there_ , a life without her was physically unimaginable. Things like that just didn’t happen, that’d be like waking up one day and finding out that the existence of water had been cancelled.

…he’d really taken their lives for granted after everything they’d lived through.

He was not losing his teammate. It wasn’t really that he hadn’t thought they could get hurt, more that he’d somehow expected that if anything did happen, it’d happen to them both. That they’d do everything together until their last day.

But now, all he could do was to desperately keep pressing his shirt on Jessie’s wound as her eyes rolled back, her mouth slightly open as if she’d been trying to tell him something but hadn’t quite made it.

“Don’t you dare… Jessie. Jess!“

He knew she probably couldn’t hear him anymore, but that didn’t stop him from calling out to her, the volume of his voice increasing every time he shouted her name as if that’d somehow be of help. He adjusted his hands on the fabric, moving the shirt a little bit again, but his partner’s body just lay there near motionless, only the faint rise and fall of her chest assuring him that she was at least still breathing.

His panicking thoughts were interrupted by a second voice from behind him, a voice that, in that moment, felt like the greatest blessing he’d ever received.

“Wat’s goin on here?”

James’ head spun around, an unimaginable amount of relief washing over him when he spotted Meowth standing behind him, the Pokémon’s expression going from confused to concerned as he appeared to take in the situation.

“Meowth! Thank goodness!” he exclaimed, trying to turn around without removing his hands. “Please tell me you found the balloon!”

**Part Two – James**

If he were asked what exactly had happened in the past hours, he wouldn’t be able to tell. In hindsight, everything was just a blur – after Meowth had found them, they’d managed to carry Jessie to the hot air balloon and brought her to the nearest town, then shoved her at the nearest doctor they’d been able to spot.

She was fine now, at least they’d been assured that her condition was stable, and she’d be back to her old self in no time, although she still hadn’t woken up.

Meowth knew the basics: They’d hit a tree, she’d collapsed, and there’d been blood, a lot of blood. From what he’d gathered it had been a mixture of pain and blood loss that’d taken her down, but she’d be okay.

Of course she’d be okay; Jessie was tough after all. She wouldn’t let a _tree_ beat her. Really, there’d been no real reason to worry. This was Jessie.

There still was no reason to worry.

And James had promised himself that he’d stop worrying right after she’d woken up, _so if she could just please hurry up and do that, that’d be great._

**Part Three – Jessie**

Whatever on earth had happened, it hurt. Like, a lot.

When Jessie regained consciousness, the first thing she noticed was a sharp pain in her side, and although she didn’t remember a thing, she instinctively blamed the twerp.

Must’ve blacked out when she hit the ground…

She shifted, tentatively moving her body before wincing at the pain it caused.

Wait…

It felt like she was in a bed, which was… unusual. She didn’t usually land in a bed. Or get tucked in.

On hindsight, hadn’t she been walking?

Slowly her memories caught up with her, the stupid twig sticking out of her skin and then James’ worried expression. But after that, nothing.

So he’d found her a bed, then.

That was nice of him.

Refusing to let sleep take her over once more, Jessie blinked, finally opening her eyes. The scenery surprised her – this wasn’t some cheap hotel room or anything like that. Despite the dim lighting in the apparent night time, it was strangely bright, and… plain.

…hospital..

She was in a hospital.

Wow, had it really been that bad?

She tilted her head, careful not to move her waist as she glanced around the room. Something was attached to her arm, a clear fluid slowly dripping down a tube, another machine next to her beeping softly in an even rhythm. She hadn’t even noticed James sitting on a chair next to her bed, lying with his face down on the mattress. Meowth was nowhere to be seen, but maybe he just hadn’t found them yet.

Who knew how long she’d been out. Hopefully the Pokémon hadn’t gotten into any trouble.

She continued looking at her partner, a few minutes went by without anything but his soft breathing breaking the silence. Just like him to not even let her have a hospital bed to herself. Although… it was nice to not wake up alone. Or wake up around a bunch of strangers. Or just… not at all.

It was obvious that he’d been the one to bring her here, although she wasn’t really sure on the _how_ part. Of course he had; it was James. James would always…

He’d always been there. He’d kept the promise he’d made all those years ago well.

Even though he looked like a complete mess.

…had it really been that bad? He didn’t usually look _that_ awful.

Peacefully asleep as he was, she could still see the dark bags under his eyes, as if he’d been up all night shining his bottlecaps again. It had never made sense to her why he’d value literal trash so much that he’d sacrifice his sleep or risk his life for it, but she’d given up on trying to understand it ages ago.

But she was pretty sure it hadn’t been bottlecaps keeping him up this time. Nor plans to capture Pikachu, although considering the spare time he must’ve had while she’d been sleeping, he really could’ve thought of something.

Then again, they should probably regroup properly before starting their next scheme…

And get him new clothes, apparently? What had happened to his shirt?

She absentmindedly shifted her hand, moving some strands of tousled hair out of his face. Her fingers remained there, brushing along his cheek, the motion so natural that she barely even took notice. Touching him wasn’t much of a big deal; they clung to each other all the time anyway, and the loose strand of hair in his face had just bothered her. She just didn’t have the energy to move her arm away again. And literally everyone looked cute while they were asleep, that didn’t make him any special.

Still, she thought, as she lazily stroked his cheek while he drooled on her bed.

It really was nice.

Having someone to rely on.

Years ago, she’d sworn to herself she would never trust anyone again, but yet he’d just forced himself into her life, and… proved it. He really was different.

She didn’t trust people.

But this was James.

She’d never really realized just how natural it had become for her to rely on him. It’d become so normal she didn’t even question it, and she couldn’t remember when exactly they’d transitioned to that point.

…why was she just now noticing this?

Being pretty much rendered unable to move did give one time to think, evidently. There’d been a time when just another person’s presence would put her on edge, but James sleeping only inches away from her was so familiar, if anything it only comforted her.

Not that she’d admit to needing comfort. No, she was perfectly fine all by herself.

But still, not actually being all by herself was nice.

As long as it was him.

Jessie’s fingers came to a halt when her friend suddenly opened his eyes, their bright green hue visible even in the dim light. For a few seconds, they just looked at each other; James taking a few seconds to get his mind to catch up and take in the situation, Jessie just unsure what to say.

Then he shot up, apparently finally having realized where they were.

“Jessie!” he squealed, his high-pitched voice breaking the silence of the night. “You’re awake!”

She couldn’t help but smile at his belated, overly enthusiastic reaction, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as well. That was James – always emotional. Always with those high-pitched sounds of excitement.

How’d she ever live without him?

“’Course I’m awake,” she muttered in response, surprised by how hard it was to speak. It felt a bit like her body wasn’t quite ready to do what she wanted, requiring a lot of effort just for some simple words.

“How’d we get here?”

“I’ll tell you later,” he assured her. “It’s a long story.”

The warm, relieved smile in his face stopped her from prodding any further. It stopped her from saying anything if she was being honest, rendering her pretty much speechless for a moment.

His hair was a complete mess, his eyes surrounded by dark circles, remains of drool on his face, along with the texture of the mattress his face had been lying on.

And he looked like he’d just received the best news of his life. For crying out loud, she could’ve sworn there were tears in his eyes.

And he was looking at _her._

Even though he looked awful, somehow all that she could think of was that he was beautiful.

Because this look on his face was for her, and not anyone else.

He was an idiot sometimes, but he was _hers_.

And suddenly, just like that…

She understood.

They’d had this for a while now, hadn’t they?

She didn’t even notice she was staring at him, she wasn’t certain he was noticing it either. But in that moment, she felt something else, and that was….

…new.

It was new, but it was familiar at the same time.

And contrary to what she would’ve expected, she wasn’t terrified of it at all.

Because…

Because it was James.

Why would she ever be scared around James?

He wouldn’t look at her like that if he didn’t…

If he didn’t agree.

If he couldn’t feel it too.

James would never lie to her. Neither with his words nor his actions. He never had. She was pretty sure he was incapable of lying when it came to her, even if he’d have wanted to; but she was also certain that that wasn’t the case. And that was a kind of certainty she’d never felt with anybody else.

Somehow, as she looked at him, his expression changed from relieved to something softer; and she didn’t need to hear his words to know that he understood as well.

They’d never needed words for the important things.

She didn’t even think of stopping him when he moved closer, sitting at the edge of her bed where he’d rested his head before. If it weren’t for her injury, she’d have moved aside to give him space, but he managed to squeeze himself next to her anyway, wordlessly lying down and moving his arm around her shoulders.

There’d been so many times they’d casually slept like that, it shouldn’t have been special.

It really wasn’t, but at the same time, it was.

Though she couldn’t move properly, she nestled her head into his chest, accepting the closeness. She’d done that before too, but the soft warmth of his body and the constant rhythm of his heartbeat had always calmed her down.

Jessie found herself subconsciously relaxing in her partner’s embrace as he entwined their legs and wrapped his free arm around her.

Her eyes fell shut when she felt his lips pressing against the top of her head, and even though they’d never been _quite_ as close before, it felt like they’d been for ages.

They’d been meant to be like that.

Neither of them needed words to know that they both agreed, that in that moment, everything just felt completely right. After all, she was awake, she’d be alright. And so was he.

And that was that.

And right in that moment, enveloped by his warmth, she felt at home.

The very feeling she’d always been longing for, somehow it’d suddenly wound up having been there the whole time.

Wow, they’d been slow.

And James too didn’t need to hear her say it; he’d seen on her face that she knew exactly what was happening, and all he could think of was the assurance that she’d really be fine.

That they’d both be fine.

Even if they were on a hard bed in a hospital room, surrounded by white walls and the smell of disinfectant…

In that moment, it was where they were supposed to be.

And as long as they were together, they were home.

**Part Four - Meowth**

When Meowth entered the hospital room an hour or so later, remains of a late night snack in his paws, he found his friends cuddled up close together in the small bed, fast asleep. Jessie must’ve woken up – James wouldn’t just get that close to her without consent, even if they did sleep close like that a lot. And since he hadn’t called a nurse either, it seemed like she’d be okay just like they’d been told she would.

Relieved, the Pokémon finished his last bites before climbing onto the mattress, curling up next to his friend’s body to join them in their early morning nap. Despite how he’d acted in front of James earlier, he hadn’t been able to fall asleep without knowing Jessie would be alright, and been up all night – he was exhausted.

It sure was nice having two best friends.

He’d never liked sleeping on his own much. Other members of his kind had never been too eager to share their sleeping space with him, or come near him at all, especially after he’d learned how to talk. But there was always enough room for him next to Jessie and James.

Good thing at least their friendship would never change.


End file.
